Schwerin (dpa/mv) - In addition to federal aid programs, the state wants to support companies in certain hardship cases with one-off payments to cope with increased energy costs. As the Schwerin Ministry of Economic Affairs announced on Thursday, companies that had to pay at least four times the price for electricity and/or gas in the period from June to November 2022 compared to the same period last year should benefit from this. They should be able to apply for a one-off payment in the amount of a deduction. Together with two other measures, 40 million euros are available for this.
Companies that obtain their energy from heating oil, coal or pellets, for example, should also be able to receive a one-off subsidy. The prerequisite is more than a tripling of energy costs from January to November 2022 compared to the same period last year. The companies would also have to have a certain energy intensity. The energy costs in the company must therefore amount to at least six percent of sales in 2021.
As a third measure, the establishment of a hardship commission is planned, which should find solutions for individual cases that have not been recorded. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, a total of 50 million are available for special hardship cases. 20 million would come from the federal government as part of the SME hardship regulation. The state is strengthening the federal regulation or financing its own programs with 20 million euros. Another ten million euros are available for hardship loans in the event of material price increases and supply chain disruptions. The country also takes on default guarantees to secure loans.
"Now it's time for the detailed planning. The aim is that the applications for the supplementary measures can be submitted to the Mecklenburg-Western Pomeranian State Funding Institute in mid-February 2023," Minister of Economics Reinhard Meyer (SPD) was quoted as saying. He also referred to the price brakes on electricity, gas and heat from the federal government. "We trust that the brakes will provide the needed support for energy costs in the vast majority of cases."
